Todd Huvard, president of AircraftMerchants, a North Carolina-based aircraft brokerage, is a commercial pilot with multi-engine, instrument and seaplane ratings and is typed in Cessna 500 and Falcon 20 jets. He founding editor and publisher of The Southern Aviator.

I tried again. I dialed 1-800-WX-BRIEF because of a TFR — I wanted to make sure my flight wouldn’t conflict with the edges of the VIP barricade. The Lockheed Martin associate (we used to call them briefers and we loved them) spent the first several minutes telling me all the reasons he and his company would not be liable for anyone so stupid as to fly an airplane or for any mistakes, transgressions or blunders such an idiot might make. He finished off by advising me with the standard “VFR NOT RECOMMENDED” and threw in an exclamation about turbulence for good measure.

Having been insufficiently frightened by his windowless world view, I turned to my laptop to divine my own aerial prognostications. It wasn’t always like this.